


Penguin Sledding

by BelleBasBleue



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Modern with Bending (Avatar), Bending (Avatar), Cross-Posted on FanFiction.Net, F/M, Hurt Zuko (Avatar), Iroh (Avatar) is a Good Uncle, Iroh (Avatar) loves Tea, Katara as a nurse, Mentions of Cancer, The Jasmine Dragon (Avatar), Zuko is an Awkward Turtleduck
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-06
Updated: 2020-08-06
Packaged: 2021-03-05 22:00:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,204
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25752499
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BelleBasBleue/pseuds/BelleBasBleue
Summary: Katara is spending an afternoon at the local tea shop near Ba Sing Se University finishing up a paper for class. Zuko is a server at his Uncle's tea shop. A few pots and pans fall on Zuko's head and Katara is there to patch him up. Lots of fluff and cuteness.
Relationships: Iroh & Zuko (Avatar), Katara/Zuko (Avatar)
Comments: 4
Kudos: 127





	Penguin Sledding

Katara sat in the corner of the tea shop with an overheating computer in front of her. An empty tea cup sat beside her computer, but in favor of finishing her paper, it lay abandoned. This was the last project for the semester,but Katara felt that a better use of her time might be smashing her head against her laptop keys until she passed out. At least she would finally get some sleep. Katara glanced at her phone’s clock, counting down the hours quickly to her next shift at the hospital. She had exactly three hours left to finish this history paper on the life of Avatar Kyoshi before she had to be in scrubs. “Where is Aang when you need him,” Katara murmured to herself. She wrote a quick text to her best friend Aang to ask him if he knew anything about Avatar Kyoshi. One of the bonuses of being friends with the Avatar was that she always had an encyclopedia on the history of the world at her fingertips, as well as a credible source to use in her paper. 

While waiting for a reply, Katara took a glance around the little tea shop, deciding whether or not to get another cup of tea. The shop was one she found by chance, a while back, when she had been wandering up and down the streets near her apartment. The tea shop was close enough to Ba Sing Se University that it had low prices for college students, but it was far enough away that it wasn’t packed to the brim with younger students. Katara came here whenever she needed a peaceful afternoon, and it didn’t hurt that the funny old man who owned the little shop, Uncle Iroh, loved her and would often slide her some extra pastries at the end of the day. It also didn’t hurt that the nephew of Uncle Iroh wasn’t bad looking. Katara scanned the shop and accidentally caught the nephew’s tired eyes. Katara quickly redirected her gaze and pretended that she hadn’t been looking at his golden eyes. 

Katara vaguely remembers being introduced to the nephew, Zuko, but since then the two of them had never really interacted besides the occasional orders of extra tea and food. Zuko seemed like the unapproachable type with the dark tattoos scaling up his arm and the large burn mark that covered his left eye, but the air of mystery combined with his bad-boy vibe made him incredibly attractive to Katara. Katara shook her head, disturbing her thoughts as she forced herself to check her phone for an incoming text that Aang had sent her before returning to her paper, popping her headphones back in. 

A short cough disturbed Katara from her short lived concentration. Katara looked up in surprise, meeting the golden eyes beside her table. Uncle Iroh’s nephew stood politely in front of her little table with a large, decorated teapot grasped in his hands. He was dressed in a dark green, button up shirt with his sleeves pushed back behind his elbows. A large apron with the words: “The Jasmine Dragon” scrawled across it was tied on top of his outfit. His shaggy hair hung to the left side of his face as he stared at Katara blankly, repeating his question. Katara popped out one of her earphones and stammered an apology to the boy in front of her. “Sorry, what did you say?”

Zuko gestured to the empty teacup beside her computer. “Did you want a refill on that?” Katara found herself staring up at Zuko instead of replying right away, distracted once again by his appearance, this time focusing on his tattoos. Zuko raised his eyebrow at her silence and made another gesture between the kettle and her teacup, but didn’t repeat the question.

Katara flailed her arms and picked up the teacup in haste and slid it towards him. “Yes than-thank you!” Katara stammered, refusing to meet his gaze and just watched him fill up her teacup. Zuko remained silent as he filled the cup and slid it back towards her and began to walk away. Katara quickly raised the teacup to mouth to take a sip, but ended up pouring half of it into her lap. Katara let out a gasp at the hotness of the liquid seeping into the fabric of her pants. Zuko turned around at her swearing and let out a slight rasp of laughter.

“Need more so soon?” he joked lightly. He took the cup out of her hand and set it delicately beside her computer. Zuko pulled out some napkins out of the front pocket of his apron and offered it to Katara. “Here, this should help.”

Katara felt her whole face and neck heat up, and she roughly grabbed the napkins out of his hand. “Thank you, but I’ve got it under control,” she barked, her embarrassment feeding her temper. She drew her hand away from her lap, pulling some of the liquid out of her jeans before using the napkins to wipe away some of the excess. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Zuko fill her cup up once more with hot tea. She also noticed the barely contained amusement in his eyes. The side of his mouth was twitching like he wanted to break out in a smile. Katara huffed. “It’s not that funny,” she growled, but with no true bite to her words.

Zuko let out a small chuckle and the corner of his mouth tilted up in a smirk. “It happens to everyone, believe me. I have cleaned up many messes of spilled tea, but this has to be the easiest case.” Zuko nodded to her hands. “Water bender right?”

“Uh, yeah...born like this. What’s it to you?” Katara crossed her arms and stared him down. “It’s not a crime.”

Zuko lay his hands out in a placating manner. “No no, I’m not saying that you did anything wrong. I think it’s pretty cool, and you’ve also made my job a whole heck of a lot easier. Ever think about working here?” Zuko gave Katara a wink. 

Katara blinked and felt the heat of her frustration rise to her cheeks. “Would I get more pastries?” Katara hooked a few loose curls behind her ear and looked up at him through her lashes.

Zuko’s own face began to turn a little red, and he broke from Katara’s gaze. “Uh, yeah, I think Uncle could arrange that.” He rubbed the back of his neck and stole a glance at her again. He jerkily pointed to the back room and Katara could easily see the bright tint of the blush on his cheeks. “Uh, I kinda need to get back to work, but uh… yell if you need more tea,” he finished weakly. His bad boy persona melted away to show an awkward young man as he grinned at her, which made Katara feel giddy.

She nodded jumpingly. “Yeah, I’ll let you know…” Katara waved goodbye as she watched him walk away. Katara smiled to herself, before turning back to her computer and her newly poured tea.

Katara fell back into a writing haze as she placed her headphones in her ears and let the hours pass. Writing the last word of her paper, she sighed and rotated her neck, feeling it crack deliciously. Katara picked up her phone and responded to a few texts that she missed. 

The tea shop was mostly empty, this close to closing, but a few of the college students were still working, and a few older customers were still milling around. From the corner of her eye, Katara caught Uncle Iroh making his way out from the back room and met her eyes and smile. Katara spied the small plate full of desserts in his hand, and she just shook her head, a smile playing on her lips. Pushing aside her computer, Katara greeted the old man with a grateful smile. “You always know how to make my night, Uncle Iroh.”

Uncle Iroh gave her a rueful smile and settled himself in the chair across from her. “That’s nice of you to say, Miss Katara, but I think it’s because of the experience I’ve gained from my own grumpy young adult,” he commented with a light laugh. He pulled a kettle out of nowhere, and poured a soothing cup of jasmine tea for the both of them. Katara whispered her thanks, grabbing a pastry and taking a sip of her tea. “How has your afternoon been?” He asked kindly.

Katara chewed, thinking before replying. “It was pretty good. Your shop is always so calming, so it helped me finish one paper I had to write for school. How was your day? I didn’t see you around much today.”

Iroh sighed and leaned back against the back of his chair and rested his hand on the top of his stomach. “I just had some errands, don’t you worry about me my dear. I was around a little bit.” Uncle Iroh got a sly look in his eyes, but he didn’t say anything about the tea incident. “So are you done for the semester? Poor Zuko still has some projects to finish. He has been complaining about them constantly, but between me and you he would have to do much less complaining if he didn’t procrastinate so much.” Katara chuckled a little bit at Iroh’s antics. “Ah I remember being as young as you two. I was not the most studious, but I had many adventures.” Uncle Iroh gazes pensively into his cup of tea, and Katara lets him have several moments of silence. She occupied herself with looking out of the frosty window and watching the setting sun. “What a time to be young,” Iroh mused aloud.

Katara smiled at him, but sighed as she saw the street lights begin to glow.“It looks like it’s getting much darker outside; I should probably get ready to go home,” she said apologetically. She pointed at the pastries in front of them. “Would it be alright if I took some of these home?”

Iroh looked a little disappointed at her leaving so soon, but he only gave her a fond smile. “Yes of course, you would want to be getting home. If I’m not wrong, we may have our first winter storm of the season tonight; I can feel it in my knees.” Uncle Iroh slowly got up and waddled his way over to the main counter and leaned behind it to grab a to-go box. Katara got up and went to grab it from him.

“Oh no, let me get it.” Katara set the pastries in the box and gave Uncle Iroh a smile. 

Uncle Iroh sighed in contentment and offered to help her arrange a few more pastries in the box. “Ah don’t worry about me, young Katara; I’m not that old yet.” He gave her an amused smirk. “Thank you, my dear, I know I can’t be too careful. But that is why I have a young nurse like you around.” Iroh gave her a small wink. Katara was reminded of a similar wink that Zuko had given her that afternoon, and her cheeks warmed. However, she was pulled away from her thoughts by a sound at the other side of the empty tea shop.

There was a sudden crash and a short yell from the kitchen, making both Uncle Iroh and Katara rush towards the back room.

“Nephew? You alright?” Iroh asked, worry creeping into his voice as they ran behind the counter. When they didn’t get a reply, Katara launched herself into the kitchen with Iroh following close behind her.

Zuko was on the ground surrounded by pots and pans. A small spattering of blood was seeping out his head and arm, but from far away Katara couldn’t tell how bad the injuries were. He groaned as he tried to move his body, but Katara let out a little yelp to stop him from moving. She rushed to his side and quickly started taking a look at his head. The bleeding was coming from a small cut on his forehead and shoulder, but neither of them seemed very deep. Katara’s hands moved to Zuko’s head, feeling for any bumps that could have been created by the falling pots and pans. There was only one, but it was pretty large. Zuko hummed at the feeling of Katara’s hands thumbing through the hair against his scalp. He opened his eyes slowly and looked at Katara with thoughtful eyes. He grasped the wrist that was resting on his forearm and gazed at it. Katara ignored him and stayed busy checking his pulse and making sure he followed the movement of her hand from one side of his head to the other. Zuko weakly followed her finger, but he clearly seemed to be in a daze. “Okay Zuko, I need you to tell me how you are feeling. Do you feel dizzy, or disoriented? Do you remember what happened?”

Zuko shook his head, clearly confused. “I’m ok, I think. I feel like I can’t focus on anything...I’m not sure what happened, but I think I was shutting off the burner and something fell on my head…” Zuko trailed off, but he caught Katara’s gaze with a sudden excitement in his eyes. “Will you go penguin sledding with me?” 

Katara felt something drop in her stomach and she quickly picked her hands up and summoned water from the sink to press against his head. “You know what, lets focus on fixing you up first, okay?” She turned her head away from Zuko and gave Iroh a steady look. “I need you to call an ambulance, okay? I think he may have a concussion, so we need to get him to a proper doctor as soon as possible. It may be nothing serious, but I want to be sure,” she reassured.

Iroh shook his head in disbelief, but heeded her warning. He shakily grabbed the phone from the front desk and dialed for the emergency squad. “Of course, Miss Katara. I don’t know what I would do without you here...Can you keep an eye on him while I call from the main phone?”

Katara nodded in conformation, giving Uncle Iroh a hopefully reassuring smile. Katara cleared a path around Zuko so the emergency team would be able to get him out when the time came. She summoned a puddle of water from the pipes and wrapped it around her hands and pressed it against the side of Zuko’s head again, letting the water softly glow as she examined the injury more thoroughly. Zuko tried to lean away from her hands, but Katara was persistent. “You’re going to have to stay still, Zuko, if you want me to help you. I am just checking your head that got hit by some of these pans, okay?” Zuko tried to nod his head, but Katara placed her hands firmly around his head to prevent him from doing so. “I wouldn’t advise moving your head right now. I don’t want you to get hurt.”

“Okay,” Zuko murmured softly, his voice becoming a little rough. “So is that a no on the penguin sledding? How about dragon riding?”

Katara let out a soft laugh. “What is with you and riding animals?” She let the dirty water drain into the sink before grabbing fresh water and starting again. “How about I tell you my answer after we get you healed, how does that sound?”

Zuko pouted. “Alright.” Zuko was silent for a few moments before continuing to ramble. “You are very pretty, you know? Your eyes are very shiny and blue. I went to the beach when I was little, and your eyes look exactly like the ocean. Did you know that? My eyes hurt, and I feel kind of sick. Is that bad?” Zuko rolled his head to the side and tried to meet Katara’s eyes again. Hers widened at the serious, yet delirious look in his eyes. “Are you the moon? You are so pretty.” 

Katara bit her lip, pushing the laughter back into her throat as a blush rose to her cheeks. Katara chose to ignore him and continue to focus on her work, trying to put a base layer of protection in the tissues of Zuko’s head so his wound would hurt a little less. This, apparently, did not worry him one bit as he continued to ramble on about the moon and the sun and some random blue spirit. Katara was at the very beginning of her doctor training and therefore did not have much experience, but from the textbooks she had read, she knew Zuko needed immediate attention, if his conversation with himself was anything to go by. “Where does it hurt,” she asked softly.

Zuko gestured vaguely to his whole head. “It kinda hurts everywhere, to be honest. Did you know where I got this scar?” Zuko asked, veering from one conversation topic to the next. “It’s a secret, shhhhh! I love my uncle, he is the best. Have you met him? He likes tea.”

Uncle Iroh came back into the room, explaining that the ambulance team would be there within a few minutes. He gave Zuko a fond, yet worried smile as Zuko grinned up at him when he entered the room. Uncle Iroh turned to Katara; “Is he going to be alright, Miss Katara?”

Katara wrung her hands out and nodded, trying to sound confident. “I think he is alright. I checked his head with the healing powers I have and the bump does not seem too deep, and it seems like he is only in shock, or at least I hope it is just that.” Katara gave Zuko a look. “The doctors will be able to tell you more.” Katara sighed. “I wish I could help more, but I have only just started my training so I don’t want to hurt him and do more than I should in case I get it wrong, but I think he will be alright,” Katara rambled.

Iroh lay a hand on her shoulder. “I trust you, Miss Katara. If you say my nephew will be alright, then I believe you.” Iroh looked down at his nephew and patted his shoulder, lending his nephew some comfort. Zuko grinned, saying something about how he wishes he were a turtleduck. It was not long before the emergency crew got there and Katara helped them get Zuko onto a camelephant and send him to the nearest hospital in Ba Sing Se. Katara relayed her information on his injury to one of the nurses before saying goodbye to Uncle Iroh, promising him that she will visit the next morning after her night shift to check up on the two of them. It felt very strange to leave the two and go back into the tea shop to grab her computer and head home to her one room apartment before going into work. She only hoped Zuko would be alright and that his concussion was only mild.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“I asked her to go penguin sledding??? WHat am I? Seven? Omg I can’t believe I did that.” Zuko buried his head in his hands and sulked deeper into the blankets on his hospital bed. His uncle sat in the chair beside his bed chuckling. 

“I think Miss Katara thought it was quite charming,” Uncle Iroh teased, only making Zuko turn redder behind his hands. “You know, she might say yes to going penguin sledding. You should ask when she comes to visit.”

Zuko groaned. He moved his left hand slowly, being careful of his I-V, to scratch his ear. “I must have hit my head pretty hard to even talk to her. Argh!” Zuko’s head softly rolled on the pillow cradling his head.

“Oh no need to be so dramatic nephew. It was a good thing that Miss Katara was there when you decided to crash in the midst of so many pots and pans. I always say that it is quite handy to have a nurse around.” Iroh pulled on his reading glasses and brought a book under his nose. There was a knock on the door, and Uncle Iroh gave him a soft smile. “Speak of the woman herself.” 

The door cracked open, and Zuko saw Katara peek her head inside. Zuko immediately dug himself impossibly deeper under the flimsy blanket that was spread across his lap. He ducked his head and became very interested in the veins on his hands.

“Hello Uncle Iroh,” Katara greeted. She was met with a nod of the head from Uncle Iroh, but he did not look up from his book. Katara’s gaze shifted to Zuko on the hospital bed. She eyed his head bandages warily and a concerned look passed over her features. “Hello... Zuko,” she added nervously. “How is the patient doing? Are you feeling any better from yesterday?” 

Katara carefully approached the bed and reached a hand automatically out to check his bandages as a habit picked up from being a nurse in training. She was still in her scrubs from the night, and under her eyes were dark circles, but Zuko didn’t think she was any less beautiful. Although he didn’t say it out loud this time. 

Zuko didn’t flinch as she placed a hand on his forehead, her touch soothing. Zuko didn’t meet her eyes, but he leaned slightly into her touch unconsciously. “Yeah I’m feeling better,” he murmured. Silence blanketed the room, and neither of the two youngest of the room seemed to want to break. In the act of avoiding looking at Katara, Zuko scanned the room and saw that his uncle was giving him a pointed look from above his glasses. Uncle Iroh pointed with his eyebrow between Zuko and Katara, as if to encourage (or rather force Zuko) to be polite and make conversation with her. Zuko let out a low sigh and met her eyes just for a second, before flitting them away and trying again.

“I um, thank you for, for taking care-I mean being there to help with....” Zuko pointed to his head weakly. “Thank you for helping me yesterday,” he finished weakly. He felt incredibly warm and uncomfortable with her gaze on him. 

Katara’s eyes widened before they softened and she gave him a smile that made Zuko feel all bubbly. Katara placed a hand on his wrist like she did that last night, and Zuko froze, unsure of what to do. Well, he knew not to ask about penguin sledding or dragon riding.

“No problem; I’m glad I could help.” Katara’s fingers ruffled his hair accidentally as she checked the bandages. “What did the doctor say about your head? Was it a concussion?”

“Uh yeah, I got hit in the head a little hard and got a minor concussion that caused some momentary amnesia and dizziness, but I was told if I take it easy, I should be fine in no time,” Zuko said.

Katara nodded, agreeing with the diagnosis. “Good, I’m glad.” She paused and her cheeks burned a little. “I mean not that it’s good that you have a concussion, I mean I’m glad that I was right, not that I needed to be, but I’m glad I was able to do the right thing in the moment because you know I’m a nurse in training, so I’m not exactly sure what I’m doing, but I’m glad all the training and studying I have been doing has paid off. I have said I’m glad a lot haven’t I. Sorry I’m incredibly nervous around you, not that you’re scary, but um you’re cute, but umm you probably already know about that. You know what I’m going to shut my mouth now.” Katara wrapped her hands around themselves and stepped away from the bed before ducking her head.

Zuko stared at her, taking a moment to take in all of the words she had thrown at him. His cheeks tinged with pink as the last part registered in his mind. “You think I’m cute?” he asked weakly.

Katara placed her hands out in front of her in a placating gesture. “I mean yeah, but you’re also cool and mysterious and totally cool…..”she let off weakly.

“I think you should ask her about the penguin sledding again, nephew,” Uncle Iroh chimed in.

Zuko shot him a look as his face turned red all over. “I was concussed,” he mumbled, crossing his arms.

Katara covered her mouth to try and disguise her smile, but she caught Zuko’s glance and her eyes crinkled. “I would love to go if the offer is still up?”

Zuko’s face lit up with a smile, which he attempted to reign in, but to no avail. “Yeah, uh the offer still stands, if you want to because that would be cool, but maybe we can go get food first or I can take you somewhere with less physical activity.” Zuko pointed to the bandages around his head. “Don’t really want to make this worse.”

Katara nodded, and gave him a soft pat on his hand. “I’d like that.”

**Author's Note:**

> Hello readers, I am a little new in writing for this fandom, but I hope you enjoyed this little innocent fic. Please leave a comment, kudos, or bookmark if you would like. Until I write again, TTFN!


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